Category: Theology

When The Church Looks Like The World

I came across the following article on Ligonier Ministries, the online home of Dr. R. C. Sproul, Sr. In the article you see some of Michael Horton‘s thoughts from the forward to Sproul’s new book-length critique of Roman Catholicism. Horton outlines four disturbing trends that seem to be infiltrating and becoming the norm with in the evangelical church.

Here are the four trends that Horton identifies in the article:

  1. We are all too confident in our own words
  2. We are all too confident in our own methods
  3. We are all too confident in our own good works
  4. We are all too enamored of our own glory

Horton provides some further explanation of what he means by each of these. While these trends are related and connected they are each detrimental to in and of themselves. Our failure to see, evaluate and fight against these trends is no excuse. As the church, we have a responsibility to guard our hearts with and for the Gospel.

What makes these trends particularly disturbing to me is how easy they have been accepted in the church. At times I wonder if we actually think we are getting the Christian faith correctly, when we might in fact be getting it wrong. That is the most disconcerting reality that these trends reveal. Over the course of the last few years I have come to realize that while there are a few areas that need significant improvement in the church, there is one that is terribly lacking–we no longer see theology as important or necessary. Theology is what academics, theologians and pastors do. That is not for the “lay” person. The study of theology is not about getting degrees or increase ones knowledge. At the heart of theology is God himself. To devout our lives to the studying of the person of God. This should be the desire of every child of God.

This discrepancy was pointed out when I had a conversation with a friend at a recent weekend retreat. He was talking about my tendency to use “church” words when I talked. He was describing how he felt that doing this could potentially be discouraging to young listeners or new believers. However, he had started to tell me that this was changing for him because in every other area of life we have to learn the vocabulary. If you are a doctor, lawyer, engineer, baseball player or online gamer, you have to learn the lingo. Why is the church so afraid to educate her members?

I have some thoughts about why we do this. They tend toward the not so flattering, so I will keep them to myself for the moment. For the time being I’ll just say that part of it is fear in one form or another. Feel free to read the article below and comment your thoughts.

[Source: 4 Disturbing Trends in the Contemporary Church.]

The Incarnation of Jesus Leads to Worship

This past weekend I not only spent some time with great friends serving college students, but I was once again brought face to face with the greatest truth and mystery of the Christian faith. Over the course of three-and-a-half days I celebrated The Lord’s Supper five times. It would be easy to think that doing something this regularly would have a negative effect in appreciating it. In fact, the opposite effect is felt.

One of the most poignant verses of scripture related to Communion is found in 1 Corinthians 11:26. While the Apostle Paul is trying to correct some of the errors and abuses that were happening in the Corinthian church.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

This truly is a wonderful mystery. Every time we participate in communion and celebrate The Lord’s Supper we are able to witness how God can dissolve the concept of time into one moment. Just take the time to consider how Paul does this in this verse.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup (in the present),
you proclaim the Lord’s death (in the past)
until he comes (in the future).

During one of the moments of Communion was struck by the glorious truth of what we as Christian’s call the Incarnation. I do not believe it would be a stretch to say that the without the Incarnation there is no Christianity. This single teaching of the Christian church is so important that without it every hope is lost. The entire prospect of salvation hinges on whether or not God became like one of us. I have included my thoughts below. I offer it as a meditation on how the incarnation of Jesus leads to worship.

The glorious mystery of the incarnation reveals the utter majesty of our great God and King. He who is full of glory and with unquenchable power has entered into a broken world. He has come so that I, a wretched sinner might know the unhindered presence of grace. This is the offer of true grace. Nothing withheld. Nothing denied. Nothing lacking. Complete salvation. Once and for all delivered through the womb of a woman.

Oh mystery of mysteries. How could this be? How could God accomplish so much through what appears to be something so weak–a baby weeping? Only an all powerful God could use one of the weakest images of the human experience and accomplish the redemption of, not just one man or woman, but of all of them. Now and forever. God has come in the flesh.

What great love this is. What a demonstration of unbridled and wasteful grace. God has so much grace to give he gives and gives and is not bothered by the fact that it will not all be consumed.

How could I ever feel unsatisfied by the grace of God? Only if I have accepted a substitute. Only if I have allowed another Gospel, which is no gospel at all, to pollute my heart and mind with lies about Jesus.

The incarnation is a glorious mystery. I don’t understand it. But then again. I don’t really want to.

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A Look into the Future | “Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?”

I came across this article by Ross Douthat in the NYTimes.com. It provides a very interesting commentary on the slippery slope of capitulating to cultural trends and theological malaise. Douthat looks at the recent decision by the Episcopal Church, the American branch of the Anglican Communion, to recognize homosexual unions and even to provide a liturgy/ceremony approved by denominational leaders about a week ago. While it would be easy to isolate the homosexual issue, this article does a very good job of looking at what happens to a denomination that gives ground to the prevailing wisdom of the surrounding culture. Continue reading “A Look into the Future | “Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?””

The Dark Night Rises In Colorado

If anyone needed a reminder of the reality of suffering and sin, we have seen another example this morning in the early hours of The Dark Knight Rises premier. Reports are still being clarified, but the alleged suspect arrived and threw a tear gas like gas in the theater and then proceed to fire an unknown number of weapons and rounds of ammunition. As of this writing twelve are reported dead and over forty injured in a variety of ways. As many may be asking at this point in the day, “What was the point?”

The sad truth is that there may never be an answer that will satisfy those of us that are wondering. There will never be an answer that will ease the pain of the loss of life. Events like this occur far too often, but it is not until a sensational event takes place, like the one this morning that our attentions are sharply drawn. I am frustrated by this. I am angry that this has happened again. But, some of my frustration and some of my anger is pointed at a culture that insists that it understands the deepest longings of the human heart, mind and soul. We have become so enlightened that we are more ignorant and more perverse than ever before.

I find it somewhat ironic that James Holmes, the suspect that was arrested, was released from the University of Colorado where he was a PH.D. student in neuroscience.

While I was finishing my undergraduate degree, I had to read The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. It is an interesting tale of a man by the name of Tomáš. His defining characteristic is that he has an insatiable sexual appetite. And yet, he never seems to find any peace or satisfaction. Instead of finding a weightiness to his existence, Tomáš realizes that his being is unbearable light. There is no substance, no significance, nothing of value or worth to his life. As you read the book you find that it is not in the abundance of pleasure that you find meaning. This is the strange existential reality of life. While many of us who heard about this terrible event feel sorrow and mourn with those that have lost; and while we feel a righteous anger toward the one who committed these heinous acts, we eventually all turn our attentions inward.

We turn inward because we think about what we would have done if we had been there. We turn inward wondering how we would feel if we had been injured, known someone who died or second guessed our decision to get out without helping others. We turn inward because we all are faced with the undying and unrelenting question, “Am I doing anything with my life worth remembering?” This is a fundamental reality.

If we were honest with ourselves we would have to acknowledge the general self-centeredness of our lives. I hate to even admit it, but it is true. We more often than not are looking out for “good ole #1.” What do we have in our lives that helps us to counteract this? The only example we have is Jesus’ self-less love for sinners. Jesus died for those that deserved it least. We are the reason for his death and suffering and he is the reason for our life and joy.

Paul says it this way in Philippians 2:

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NKJV)

The mind of Christ, as Paul calls it describes the change that takes place within those who follow Jesus. This change affects everything that we do, especially how we see and respond to tragedies like the one that occurred this morning. I do not make any claims in knowing how Jesus would respond to this event. I do think that it would include sorrow, weeping and a desire to serve those affected.

A dark night rose last night. It just was not the one that everyone was looking forward to.

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What Is The Difference Between Good Theology and Bad Theology?

It has been a couple of weeks since my friend Jay Williams passed away. I have had some time to think about his life and the impact that he had on so many, even in his death. Even now I am still hearing stories about the impact his life had. It is just amazing to me how one person can reach so many. Which, brings me to today. As I was standing in the hallway behind the sanctuary during Jay’s funeral, a thought hit me: Good theology is so important because life is too short to get it wrong.

I think some definitions would be helpful here before we go any further. Theology is the a word that means “study of God.” That means that when we are studying theology we are trying to understand something about how God works in this world and what kind of a God we are talking about. When we try and figure out how we are supposed to interact with God we have moved into a different realm of study. We are now talking about philosophy.

An Example of “Bad” Theology

My pastor a couple of weeks ago said something that I had felt, but had never really verbalized in quite this way. Pastor David said, “I have never been to a funeral where the person in the casket went to hell.” What he was saying was that it is very difficult to be the preacher at the funeral and say, “Well, they were a scoundrel, lived a terrible life and are now burning in the flames of eternal damnation! Oh, and by the way, they deserved it because they were unrepentant sinners.” I have never heard anything like that. But, we have to ask ourselves the question, “Does everybody go to heaven?” This post is not going to entertain the discussion that has been had in the last few years about this issue. I will state that I do not believe that everybody goes to heaven. What I want to say is that if we are so afraid of hell, why do we not accept the answer that God gives, rather than make up our own–that there is no hell or that everybody goes to heaven?

At the root of this example is a fear that all people have. If we allow the preacher or eulogizer of the dead to posit the eternal destiny of the person in the casket, then we have to ask ourselves the same question. “Have I given enough, or any thought, to what will happen to me at my death?” Have we considered what our destiny will be?

Bad theology lets us off the hook for our actions and puts us in more favorable circumstances. We all come out feeling better about ourselves even if the truth of the matter is something else. Bad theology is bad precisely because it puts us in the position of having to defend God from his own Word. God does not need defending.

What is Good Theology?

At the heart of Good Theology is God, as he truly is. Without the need for qualification or clarification. God all by himself. When we stop trying to make God look better we can begin to dig into what we are supposed to know and understand. My friend Jay died from a tragic accident. He fell from a roof. One of the most common things that I hear when someone dies young or unexpectedly is, “Well, it was just their time.”

Let’s think about that for a second. What are we saying about God? We are essentially saying that God was actively involved in the death of this person. Now, while this is not outside the realm of possibilities, and God is well within in right to do as he pleases, do we want to get into a “God’s Hit List” situation? God’s knowledge of events does not make God guilty of what happens on a fallen planet.

Good theology starts where the bible starts. Where is that exactly? The Bible starts with God’s goodness and human sin. Jay was a good man, a righteous man, by all accounts public and private, but Jay was a sinner and he lived in a sinful world. He, just like the rest of us, had to deal with the realities of living in a world ravaged by the effects of the fall. So what does that mean? It means that Jay’s faith in God did not immunize him from the realities and difficulties of life. It means that even accidents and premature deaths happen to those who believe in Jesus.

God is good even when especially when things do not turn out the way that we planned. This is the turbulent truth of the Christian faith. Can we endure the struggles of life, wondering if God will prove to be faithful? Or will God finally fail us?

What I have learned in the days and weeks following Jay’s death is that good theology is the only hope we have. Bad theology may make us feel better in the short term, but it will rob us of true peace and joy in the end.

A Tribute to Jay Williams | “He Loved Jesus”

Jay Williams

(July 11, 1980 – June 30, 2012)

A Tragic End

Around 4:45 pm this afternoon Jay Williams died from injuries suffered from falling off a roof while at work, eleven days shy of his thirty-second birthday. That may have been the cause of my friend’s death. But, that will never be what I remember most about him.

It is during events like this that we are confronted with some of the most difficult questions of faith. We are consumed with our sorrow and pain. We are riddled with questions that may never be answered. We are shocked into the unchanging reality that the one who died, we will not see again… this side of eternity. And here in lies the hope of the disciple of Jesus. We do not mourn like those who have no hope, Paul told the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

God never promised that our lives on earth would be long and filled with every pleasure we could fill it with. What he promised was that we would never have to go through anything by ourselves. Taking advantage of all of the wonders and opportunities of life will never be a sin. We just can not expect those things to fill our hearts and satisfy out deepest longings. I never knew what that meant until I met Jay Williams. He taught me how to see the good in every situation and how to fill as many moments as possible with all that you have to offer.

I was praying for a different outcome. I wanted to see Jay again. I want Jay to be at the Chrysalis Journey Weekend in five weeks talking about serving God and helping others see their own potential. That’s what I want, but that is not the truth. Jay has walked THROUGH death’s door. That is what death is. It is a door we have to go through because Jesus has not come back and shut it for good. And, until Jesus comes back and makes everything right again we will have to deal with tragedies and losses like this.

But, do you know what I hate more than the fact that I will not see Jay again until I die or Jesus comes back? I hate the crazy things that people will say to try and make his family feel better. I want to clear some things up right here.

  • God did not need another angel. He has all the angels he needs.
  • It was not Jay’s time. Jay had an accident because that is what happens in a fallen world, and that accident cost him his life.
  • Jay is not looking over us. Jay is looking into the eyes of his Savior and is enjoying the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to him. Jay is better than he has ever been.
  • Jay would not choose to come back. This is the hardest of all. If Jay would choose anything, it would be for all of us who love him to be with him, where he is with Jesus.

I do not say any of this to hurt, but to remind us all of what, I believe, Jay would want us to remember. Our loss and grief is great because we loved him and we will miss him. But, if we see death as the end of everything rather than as the passage to everything we will deny ourselves the peace of knowing that he truly is in a better place.

The Life and Legacy of Jay Williams

There are three things that characterize Jay to me. I found all of these characteristics to be true as I worked with Jay during Chrysalis this past year.

1. He loved Jesus.

Man, did he love Jesus. He was not willing to lose sight of him. In everything that he did and said, Jay wanted to help others understand what he had come to know and love about Jesus.

Jay was not a religious person, but he had an undeniable faith. He was not trying to impress anybody, and yet, we were all impressed with him. His faith was rich and deep and true. He did everything he could to let you know that you were a child of God without making you feel like there was something wrong with you if you were not yet one. Jesus defined who he wanted to be.

I have to say that Jay was one of the most Christ-like men I have ever met.

2. Because he loved Jesus, He loved others.

In the time that I knew Jay (which was not long enough), he never met a stranger. He may have found you strange, but that never stopped him from talking with you and engaging you in conversation. I may have been the only one he did this to, but he had an awful tendency of not looking me in the eyes when we talked. I know he was not intimidated, I do not think Jay was scared of anything. I guess he was just a humble guy and did not want to make anybody else feel uncomfortable.

It always amazed me how he could talk people into doing or trying things they would not have done on their own. I remember him tying a tight-rope thing to a tree and the back of a truck and trying to teach a few people how to get on and off without hurting themselves. That was just his way. He did not believe that people could not do things. They just needed somebody to believe in them. So, there was Jay ready to believe. He believed in others because Jesus believed in him.

3. Because he loved others, he tried to help others see Jesus.

Everything Jay did and everything he was gave Jay an opportunity to be a light for Jesus. Jay was not a preacher or an evangelist, but everything he did reflected his faith in Jesus. That is what he wanted most of all, for people to know the one who had changed his life.

I do not expect any words of mine to capture all that Jay was. I just hope to remind myself of all that Jay was to me and how I am a better man having known him.

I will miss you my friend, but the wait will not be long. I will see you soon enough.

Prayers Purpose: What Prayer Actually Changes

As much as I would like to think that I pray as I should, I know it is not the case.

Over the course of my life I have heard people say, “Prayer changes things.” I have to agree. I believe that. The question that has often lingered in my mind though is this: What exactly is being changed? It is very easy to say that prayer changes things, but when you do not know what is being changed how can we benefit.

Because of my pastor’s emphasis on prayer in his current sermon series, I have found myself thinking on this subject regularly. As much as I would like to think that I pray as I should, I know it is not the case. As Pastor David was preaching this past week I wrote down this simple phrase.

Prayer is about Preparation

As I have thought about this over the last several days I have found that prayer does change things. What I have failed to realize is the changes serve a greater purpose than I have ever understood. There are at least three individuals or groups that are changed as we pray. I would like to look at each one of these in order.

1. The Person Praying Needs to be Prepared

Prayer prepares me for what God will do. Whenever I fail to pray through an issue with God I am missing out on what I will need to receive and use what God sends to me when he answers. If there is any one person that needs to change as a result of prayer it is me. One of the most confounding realities that James writes about is the fact that prayers go unanswered, not because God does not what to answer them, but because we are asking for things that do no conform to the plans and purposes of God. When we pray amiss, what we are doing is asking God to accept our petitions as his own. We want God to approve of what we have been doing, instead of asking God to allow us into what he is doing. Continue reading “Prayers Purpose: What Prayer Actually Changes”

The Two Questions That Will Destroy Your Faith

We Become What We Believe In

I was meeting with a friend this morning. As we ate breakfast we were talking about how we become who God wants us to be. We had been reading through Colossians and we came to the end of chapter three. That is where Paul says this.

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17, ESV)

In verses 12-13 we find the attributes of who we are supposed to be. We cannot just do these things. Something has to change inside of us so that we can become people who live like this. But in the next four verses we find that there are at least four things that can do, that God will use to transform us so we more closely reflect Christ. We have to “put on love,” “be thankful,” “let the word of Christ dwell in [me] richly,” “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” If we do these things, God promises that we will see a change within us. Continue reading “The Two Questions That Will Destroy Your Faith”

The Roman Catholic Church, Postmodernity, and Human Sexuality: The Power of 1,700 Years of History

Pope Benedictus XVI
From Wikipedia: Pope Benedictus XVI

I came across an interesting article this week looking at the Catholic Church’s response to the book of “Sister Margaret Farley, a member of the Sisters of Mercy religious order and emeritus professor of Christian ethics at Yale Divinity School.”* There were several points that I found interesting in the article. I will take them one at a time.

Before I do, I do want to say a couple of things. First, I am not Catholic, an ex-Catholic and I do not have an axe to grind with the Catholic church. Second, there are many things that I appreciate about the Catholic church. (Two of my favorite movies have heavy Catholic themes: Joshua and The Shoes of the Fisherman. Check them out they are very good.) Third, while there are many within the Protestant traditions who do not believe that the Catholic church is true to Christ’s desires, thinking like this is such an overreaction that I do not even have time to write about it here. Fourth, any failure to see that in spite of its flaws (as we all have in our churches) the Roman Catholic church protected the Gospel of Jesus Christ from A.D. 300, when Constantine Created the Holy Roman Empire to A.D. 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Thesis sparking the Protestant Reformation. Continue reading “The Roman Catholic Church, Postmodernity, and Human Sexuality: The Power of 1,700 Years of History”

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